The Ethernet
Alliance, a global consortium dedicated to the continued success and
advancement of Ethernet technologies, today announced the successful
completion of its TeraFabric Plugfest. The groundbreaking plugfest
brought together the industry’s largest and most disparate array of
Ethernet product and technology vendors in a multi-vendor test
environment at the University
of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL). The gains
achieved during the TeraFabric Plugfest have allowed the Ethernet
ecosystem to move another step closer to realizing the next generation
of multi-vendor converged data center networks.

“This is the most diverse interoperability testing event the Ethernet
industry has seen to-date in terms of the sheer number of unique
vendors, products, and technologies represented, all working in concert
to accurately represent the entire spectrum of a converged data center,”
said Chauncey Schwartz, chair, Marketing Committee, Ethernet Alliance
and senior technical marketing manager, QLogic. “Using an approach
incorporating multiple Ethernet speeds, vendors, technologies, and
protocols, we were able to successfully construct and transmit data
through a 1Tb-capable fabric. Thanks to Ethernet’s continuing maturity
and the solid foundation laid during the TeraFabric Plugfest, we’re
ready to make the leap into tomorrow’s terabit-enabled future.”

Among the notable achievements realized during the event was the
successful use of 10GBASE-T in data center bridging (DCB) architectures
end-to-end over the maximum length of 100-meters. The event also saw the
industry’s first multi-vendor public test of the official IEEE Data
Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX) standard 802.1Qaz. In addition, 40GE was
successfully tested for the first time in a multi-vendor DCB
environment. Cabling vendors also performed thorough signal integrity
testing for direct-attach copper cables. Additionally test cases were
run using direct-attach passive and active copper cables as well as
direct-attach active optical cables. Tests were also completed using
40GbE breakout to four 10GbE copper cables. These cable tests
demonstrated the robustness and interoperability between 40GbE
implementations, as well as between different rates of Ethernet.

“With the increasing convergence of various technologies onto an
Ethernet fabric, the demonstration of Interoperability will be paramount
to the success of some of these new and emerging technologies,” said
Erica Johnson, director, UNH-IOL. “With over twenty years of Ethernet
testing experience, the UNH-IOL was happy to assist the Ethernet
Alliance as we seek to foster our vision for a more Interoperable future
in an increasingly heterogeneous environment.”

“This was truly a breakout event for the Ethernet Alliance in that it
required unprecedented cooperation of vendors from every corner of the
Ethernet ecosystem, as well as significant investments of time and
resources. The results speak for themselves – not only were we able to
achieve our current interoperability testing goals, we’ve laid
groundwork for the next evolutionary stage of high-speed converged data
center communications,” said John D’Ambrosia, chairman, Ethernet
Alliance, chief Ethernet evangelist, CTO office, Dell. “The Ethernet
Alliance will continue to actively pursue interoperability events such
as the TeraFabric Plugfest in an effort to ensure Ethernet’s global
expansion and advancement.”

Additional information about the TeraFabric Plugfest and other Ethernet
Alliance interoperability events is available online.
A coming white paper with full details and results of the TeraFabric
Plugfest will also be made available to all Ethernet Alliance members.
For more information about the Ethernet Alliance, please visit http://www.ethernetalliance.org,
follow @EthernetAllianc
on Twitter, visit its Facebook
page, or join the EA LinkedIn
group.

About the Ethernet Alliance

The Ethernet Alliance is a global consortium that includes system and
component vendors, industry experts and university and government
professionals who are committed to the continued success and expansion
of Ethernet technology. The Ethernet Alliance takes Ethernet standards
to market by supporting activities that span from incubation of new
Ethernet technologies to interoperability demonstrations and education.

“Amphenol was once again proud to be part of the Ethernet Alliance
TeraFabric Plugfest held at UNH’s IOL. These plugfests are a great
opportunity to test our cables assemblies and work with the leading
Ethernet technology providers in the world. Interoperability is what
makes Ethernet flourish and the best way to prove that out is with these
plugfests and this was another successful event.” – Greg McSorley,
chair, Ethernet Alliance High Speed Modular I/O Subcommittee, and
technical business development manager, Amphenol

“By participating in the 10GBASE-T data center bridging portion of the
Terabit Plugfest, AppliedMicro was able to demonstrate interoperability,
performance and robustness of our 10GBASE-T PHY in an environment with
leading suppliers of PHYs, switches, NICs and test equipment. Events
such as these offer a clear and objective indication that 10GBASE-T is
ready for broad market adoption and this plugfest will help to drive a
rapid transition to 10GBASE-T in the data center." – George Jones, vice
president of marketing and co-general manager, Connectivity Solutions,
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation

"As a principal member of the Ethernet Alliance, Dell is excited to take
part in the TeraFabric Plugfest as multivendor interoperability will be
critical for wide-spread customer adoption. And proving out key storage
and networking converged infrastructure technologies in a multivendor
environment validates the overall end-to-end solution.” – Arpit
Joshipura, vice president of product management and marketing, Dell
Networking

“Ethernet is the backbone of the data center and network convergence
provides the path for data center network simplification, with local
area network and storage area network traffic able to run on the same
wire. The Ethernet Alliance TeraFabric Plugfest allows us to test our
current and future technologies in order to ensure interoperability with
the Ethernet networking ecosystem for our customers.” – Shaun Walsh,
senior vice president of marketing and corporate development, Emulex

“Intel is delighted by the success of the Ethernet Alliance TeraFabric
Interoperability Plugfest – the first plugfest with multiple vendors
successfully demonstrating 10GBase-T products. The wide variety of
vendors, equipment, data rates, physical media and applications – all
working together – highlights the value of Ethernet itself, and the
strong role that the Ethernet Alliance plays in encouraging an ecosystem
of interoperable products. Our customers benefit greatly from this
work.” – David Fair, member, Ethernet Alliance Board of Directors,
marketing for Storage over Ethernet, Intel

“The plugfest’s high-density network mirrors the challenging environment
that many enterprise data centers are moving toward, which require
ultra-flexible and massively-scalable test solutions. This event was the
first interoperability demonstration of Ixia solutions capable of
creating 40GbE converged network conditions, support for 802.1Qaz, and
comprehensive coverage of DCB/FCoE and DCB/iSCSI over all media types.
Together these solutions enable next-generation data centers to deploy
fully optimized and drive the deployment of the latest applications and
services.” – Michael Githens, marketing lab program manager, Ixia

“As networking speeds increase, and virtualization becomes more
prevalent, the physical layer is becoming a key part of the data center
architecture. We are glad that we had the opportunity to participate in
the Ethernet Alliance’s TeraFabric Plugfest as it provided us the forum
to make sure that Panduit’s optical fiber and copper connectivity
solutions interoperate with a wide range of Ethernet switches and
servers.” – Jeff Paliga, director of data center solutions, Panduit

“Industry-standard, interoperability initiatives, such as the Ethernet
Alliance TeraFabric Plugfest, are critical to advancing Ethernet
technology. A principal member of the Ethernet Alliance, QLogic relies
on the Ethernet Alliance plugfest and interoperability demonstrations as
one way to demonstrate that our Ethernet and converged networking
products interoperate with peers in the Ethernet ecosystem. Enterprises
reduce the risk and complexity of adopting new Ethernet technology by
using products that have been demonstrated to interoperate with a broad
range of other products in the Ethernet space.” – Chris Humphrey, vice
president of corporate marketing, QLogic

“Samtec is proud to participate in the Ethernet Alliance TeraFabric
Plugfest event and is excited to have our Active Optical Cable
Assemblies tested to this leading industry specification. Successful
Ethernet interoperability testing provides customers with a proven and
reliable source for 40 Gbps QSFP+ solutions that break the bandwidth,
distance and density limits of traditional copper cabling systems.
Ethernet Alliance-tested and approved Active Optical Cable Assemblies
are a natural step in the evolution of Samtec’s broad offering of Signal
Integrity products and capabilities that allow us to be uniquely
positioned to provide our customers with true end-to-end high speed
solutions.” – Tom Custer, signal integrity engineer, Samtec

“The Siemon Company participated in this event, as well as previous
Ethernet Alliance plugfests to demonstrate our commitment to support the
Ethernet ecosystem. Our advanced product line includes high-speed copper
and fiber; SFP+ and QSFP+ interconnect assemblies; as well as UTP and
shielded twisted pair category 6A and higher 10GBASE-T cabling. We
welcome the opportunity to come together with our colleagues in the
industry to demonstrate interoperability.” – Randy Below, business
development, Siemon Interconnect Solutions, the Siemon Company

"TE Connectivity is pleased to be part of the first Ethernet Alliance
TeraFabric Plugfest at UNH-IOL. As a principal member of the Ethernet
Alliance, we support its efforts to promote next-generation Ethernet
standards and are committed to meeting the industry’s needs through our
innovations in high-speed fiber optic components and copper cabling. For
participation in this Ethernet Alliance event, TE supplied 40GbE
Transceivers, active optical cables, OM3 MPO Cable as well as QSFP+ &
SFP+ passive copper cables in various wire gauges and lengths." – Scott
Shuey, senior standards engineer, Data Communications Industry, TE
Connectivity

“The Ethernet Alliance has once again provided a neutral environment for
collaboration and testing by a diverse group of industry leading
vendors. Volex is pleased to have participated in the EA TeraFabric
Plugfest and to have taken advantage of this unique opportunity to
perform interoperability and validation testing of our High-Speed
Cables. Volex provided passive copper 10G SFP+, 40G QSFP+, and 40G QSFP+
to four 10G SFP+ hydra link cables for testing side-by-side with others
supporting the Ethernet ecosystem. With continued adoption of converged
Ethernet in data centers coupled with the ever-increasing need for
greater bandwidth, Volex continues to keep pace and fulfill our
customer’s needs.” –John Osborne, global vice president,
Telecoms/Datacoms Business Sector, Volex